Texas currently has no program in place to check if voters cast ballots in multiple states but is attempting to establish a system of its own in coordination with other states.
The Lone Star State left the nation’s only voter crosscheck program, the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), in October after it passed election reform legislation. State officials have since contacted election officials in West Virginia, Ohio, and Georgia to discuss plans to establish a new program, according to documents obtained through an open records request by The Dallas Morning News.
ERIC was founded in 2012 to prevent voters from casting votes in multiple states, which is called “double voting.” It works to remove voters from rolls who moved across state lines or have died.
The Texas secretary of state’s office told the DMN it has contacted companies about providing a new election service.
“We are talking with other states about sharing data directly, but we have not signed any MOUs (memorandums of understanding) at this time,” agency spokesperson Alicia Pierce told the DMN.
The legislature greenlit this effort through SB 1070, which came into effect in September.
“The bill sets out requirements for a private sector data system with respect to functionality, cost, compliance with state and federal law, and employee background checks and restricts the information that the secretary of state may provide to the system,” reads the bill’s legislative summary. “The secretary of state must record information related to the system and quarterly submit a report on that information to the legislature.”
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced her effort to establish a new voter crosscheck program in May. Documents obtained by the DMN purportedly show that the Ohio secretary of state’s office contacted Nelson days after the announcement regarding launching an alternative to ERIC. Ohio left the program weeks later.
The Ohio secretary of state then coordinated with West Virginia’s office in June on ways to share voting data. This included sharing draft memorandums of a potential program.
The process of establishing a new voter crosscheck program is unlikely to impact the 2024 election. States are prohibited from removing people from voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election per federal election law.